The present invention relates generally to support belts and more particularly to a support belt which is designed specifically to conform to the shape and desired angular orientation of the lower back of the wearer.
Back disorders and the pain associated therewith are frequently encountered as a result of lifting, holding, and/or transporting heavy objects. Back disorders and the pain associated therewith are also frequently experienced as a result of placing continuous, high levels of stress on a person's back. Continuous, high levels of stress can occur from, among other things, repeatedly bending over or sitting for a prolonged period of time. Back injuries resulting from heavy lifting and/or repetitive stress generally occur in the curved spinal areas of the lower back, particularly the lumbar or arch spinal region of the back. The lumbar region of the spine corresponds to the five vertebrae which lie directly above the sacrum in the human body.
Support belts, also commonly referred to as lifting belts and weight belts, are well known in the art.
Support belts are commonly employed to reduce the likelihood of back injuries resulting from repetitive stress and heavy lifting. Support belts are worn to support the lower back of the wearer. Specifically, support belts are often worn to support the lumbar region of the spine of the wearer as well as to support the muscles surrounding the lumbar spinal region, thereby limiting muscle strains and pulls.
One well known type of support belt comprises a strip of flat, stiff, rigid leather, about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick, which is wide in the back with a gradual taper toward a narrower front. To secure the belt around the waist of the wearer, the belt commonly includes a buckle having a pin on one side of the strap and a plurality of holes on the other side of the strap.
It has been found that support belts of the type described above do not adequately provide uniform support to the curved spinal areas of the back, particularly the lumbar or arch region of the back. Specifically, the inherent inflexibility of the strip of leather prevents the belt from providing uniform surface contact with the curved lumbar area of the back. As a result, portions of the lumbar spinal region of the back of the wearer are inadequately supported and therefore susceptible to injury.
In addition, such belts do not position the lumbar region of the spine at the ideal angle of lordosis (i.e. approximately 15 degrees), the angle of lordosis referring to the forward curvature of the lumbar region of the spine which produces the arch in the back of a person. To the contrary, because such belts are flat, they will have a tendency to position the lumbar spinal region at an angle of about 0 degrees, which can potentially lead to spinal malalignment and associated injuries.
It has also been found that such belts tend to be uncomfortable for most wearers. Specifically, because such belts do not accurately imitate the exact shape of the back of the wearer, the belts will tend to pinch the pelvic wings, or iliac crests of the wearer when the wearer bends over or moves.
Another well known type of support belt comprises a strip of a flexible, elastic type material which is secured around the waist of the wearer.
Unfortunately, such flexible belts provide less support than the rigid belts and are therefore not suitable for activities which require heavy lifting. Moreover, due to the lack of support, flexible belts do not adequately promote and/or protect the proper spinal curvature of the wearer, particularly in the lumbar region.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,615 to Pekar et al there is described a support belt which is intended to encircle a wearer's waist. The belt, which is made of a stiff material such as leather, has an on-board inflation pump and may be used for weight lifting. The belt includes a bladder defined by a single chamber having inflation and deflation mechanisms which allow the wearer to selectively adjust the amount of air in the bladder. The bladder has an oblong portion which is positioned on the belt so that when the belt is worn, the oblong portion is positioned adjacent to the wearer's lower back for support. An elongated portion of the bladder extending through the aperture of the belt is integrally formed with inflation and deflation mechanisms on the other side of the belt. In the preferred embodiment, the inflation mechanism comprises a pump and a one-way valve and the deflation mechanism comprises an exhaust valve.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,150 to Saunders there is disclosed a lumbosacral back support system with interchangeable and positionally adjustable lumbosacral orthopedic support members for supporting the spine of a user during physical activity, specifically for athletes and industrial workers. A back support band is provided with a first releasable attachment mechanism. A lumbosacral support member with a second releasable attachment mechanism is provided for engagement with the first releasable attachment mechanism. The first and second releasable attachment mechanisms are arranged for attaching a lumbosacral support member to the back support band at a variety of positions relative to the spine of the user. The releasable attachment mechanism provides the user with the option to substitute different lumbosacral support members on the back support band. Additionally, the back support band may be releasably attached to a compression-type short to further secure the lumbosacral back support system to the user.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,151 to Smith there is disclosed a lifting belt containing basically three elements, namely, an underlying wrap assembly with expandable back panel and overlapping closure ends, suspenders with four adjustable ends to secure to the underlying wrap assembly at varying positions in front and at two positions varying vertically in the rear, and expandable side pull portions which have a pair of elastic band portions and removably secured end tabs. The expandable side pulls are normally applied by snugly securing the side pulls to the underlying wrap assembly prior to lifting.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,274 to Glover et al there is disclosed an improved orthopedic device for human wear comprising of a flexible belt with free ends thereof joined by a hook and loop fastener to position the belt on the wearer, and wherein the flexible belt is provided with a pad to be positioned against the lumbar and sacral regions of the wearer and with vertical stiffeners for the flexible belt. A static support is fixedly attached to the flexible belt and completely encircles the wearer. The static support is bi-level with one level encircling the wearer, extending around the flexible belt, and attached thereto adjacent the pad, and is provided with adjustable length belt buckle ends for cinching the one level about the user with varying degrees of tension. A second level is V-shaped and is attached to the elastic belt adjacent to the pad to dispense the support to the sacral regions when additional support is desired and the buckled clasp and first level tightened.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,523 to J. J. Miller there is disclosed a hard body brace for treating scoliosis in a patient while preventing hypokyphosis in the patient's thoracic spine. As preferably envisioned by the present invention, the hard body brace may be fabricated by the manufacturer as an unfinished brace and may then be finished on site by an orthotist to meet the exact size and shape of the intended wearer. In a preferred embodiment, the unfinished hard body brace comprises a shell shaped to surround the torso of a person in such a way as to correct scoliosis, the shell having an outer layer of hard plastic material and an inner layer of compressible plastic material bonded to the outer layer. The shell is preferably made from a single section and has a vertically extending split portion. To prevent hypokyphosis, the shell is shaped to define a kyphotic angle in the thoracic spine of approximately 20 to 25 degrees. The shell may additionally be shaped to define a lordotic angle in the lumbar spine of approximately 15 degrees to make the brace more comfortable to the wearer.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,367 to M. E. Miller there is disclosed a pelvic girdle comprising an outer layer of a hard substantially rigid plastic material and an inner layer of soft compressible plastic material bonded to the outer layer, the girdle being shaped to engage a person's pelvis and including an anterior and a vertically split posterior portion, the girdle having an upper anterior portion separated laterally from the remainder of the girdle and curving outwardly thereof, and connecting upper side portions on the girdle connecting the anterior and posterior portions thereof and including inwardly curved sections in both layers of the girdle for engaging the iliac crests of the wearer and which sections have appreciably thicker compressible inner layers thereon.